Coventry Rugby Club

Coventry Rugby Club have launched a match day initiative to attract the next generation of rugby fans.

For the duration of the 17/18 season, the club is inviting all primary schoolchildren from across the city to take part in a series of match day activities at the Butts Park Arena.

This includes a pre-game tour of the players’ changing rooms, meeting the first team players and forming a guard of honour ahead of kick-off, before forming a tunnel of applause at the final whistle.

Youngsters will also get the chance to harness their rugby skills on the pitch at half-time in a series of tag rugby matches and learn about the history of the game, with additional opportunities to visit the World Rugby Hall of Fame in Rugby.

Coventry Sports Foundation’s Engage! programme is helping the rugby club to facilitate match day visits as part of the City of Rugby project – an initiative to make the city a world leader at every level of the sport by 2023.

Matt Price, from Coventry Rugby, said:

With the team riding high in the upper echelons of National League One, there has never been a better time for us to capitalise on the feel-good factor around the club by trying to attract new faces.

When young people come through the Butts Park Arena turnstiles for the first time, we want to create an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives and make them want to come back, and hopefully by laying on a host of activities for them, it will do just that.

We have a fantastically loyal fan base but we are keen to attract more families to ensure our support goes from strength to strength in the long-term future.

Tom Clift is Programme Manager at Engage!, an educational initiative designed to use the core values of rugby to develop healthy, well-rounded and confident young people. He added:

Our Engage project has been in more than 60 primary schools so far promoting the sport and its core values. Now that we have planted the seeds, it is crucial children have an outlet to pursue their interest in the game.

Coventry Rugby has a unique history and heritage that we want young people to know, celebrate and be proud of. Every Coventrian wants to see Coventry Rugby get promoted into the Championship and given their current 10/10 success rate, we look forward to playing our part in helping the club grow the next generation of supporters.

Each child will receive two free tickets for an accompanying parent or guardian. For more information about participating on a Coventry Rugby match day, email richard.donnelly@engagecoventry.com.